Wigan Warriors captain Liam Farrell has delivered a proud verdict on the club’s latest debutants in Christian Wade and Harvey Makin, whilst predicting we’ll see more of them both in the first-team this year.
Wade, a former British and Irish Lions representative, made his Super League debut last weekend in Wigan’s 30-10 victory against the Huddersfield Giants, just a month after switching codes from rugby union.
The 34-year-old winger made a few mistakes in the first half, but he put on a strong second half performance and scored in his maiden professional rugby league game.
Warriors captain Farrell believes the former England rugby union international will only get better from here.
“With Christian, I think coming away from rugby union, he’s had his time in the NFL as well, so producing what he did for us on the weekend after four weeks of training and two reserve-grade games (was impressive),” says Farrell. “Even though he’ll acknowledge he made a few mistakes throughout the game, I thought the effort he put in and his desire to compete were quite impressive, given that he had never played the game before.
“He showed some real classy touches and how good of an athlete he is, so I’m sure we’ll see some more of him this year.”
Meanwhile, Makin, a teenage prop, made his first-team debut for his local club in the same match as Wade. The 21-year-old, who has advanced through the youth ranks, came off the bench for the final 15 minutes of the game over Huddersfield.
“Harvey Makin is another Wigan lad who has come through the system,” according to Farrell. “He worked hard to get where he is today.
“His family came in before the game to watch him and give him his debut jersey, and he got his chance at the end of the second half. His family will be made up, he was truly made up, and his impact in the game was extremely positive, so I’m sure we’ll see more of him this year as well.”
The Warriors also paid respect to club legend Sir Billy Boston when they returned to the Brick Community Stadium last week. It was Wigan’s first home game after six games on the road, and the club made the most of Sir Billy’s achievement of being the first player to be knighted for services to rugby league.
“The club need massive applause for what they did for Billy on the weekend,” Farrell mentioned. “To put on the spectacle that they did and honor him in the way that they did was truly wonderful.
“One of the most memorable moments for me was when all of his former teammates from 50 or 60 years ago emerged from the tunnel, and it put a huge smile on his face. To witness moments like that is why we play the game and want to be a part of this fantastic club.”
Leave a Reply